Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
4.4.4 Antiepileptic Drugs
Treatment of seizures by antiepileptic drugs began in 1850, and since then, a
variety of medications have been applied. The main groups of antiepileptic drugs
include sodium channel blockers, calcium current inhibitors, gamma-aminobutyric
acid (GABA) enhancers, glutamate blockers, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, hor-
mones, and drugs with unknown mechanisms of action. One of the widespread
antiepileptic drugs, carbamazepine, has been detected frequently in municipal
sewage and surface water samples (Heberer et al.
2001a
; Ahrer et al.
2001
).
Various field studies have shown that carbamazepine (Heberer et al.
2001b
) and
primidone (Heberer et al.
2001b
) are not attenuated during riverbank infiltration.
Both compounds have been detected in shallow wells and water supply wells of a
transect built to study the behavior of drugs during riverbank filtration (Heberer
et al.
2001b
). This also explains why carbamazepine has been detected in a number
of groundwater samples at a maximum concentration up to 1.1 lg/L (Seiler et al.
1999
; Sacher et al.
2001
; Ternes
2001
) and in drinking water at a concentration of
30 ng/L (Ternes
2001
).
4.4.5 Beta-Blockers
Beta-blockers are medications that reduce the workload of the heart and lower
blood pressure. They are commonly prescribed to relieve angina (a type of chest
pain, pressure, or discomfort) or treat heart failure. They also are prescribed for
people who have high blood pressure (hypertension). Several beta-blockers
(metoprolol, propranolol, betaxolol, bisoprolol, and nadolol) have been detected in
municipal sewage effluents up to the lg/L level (Ternes
1998
) and in groundwater
samples (Sacher et al.
2001
).
References
Ahel M, Jelicic I (2001) Phenazone analgesics in soil and groundwater below a municipal solid
waste landfill. In: Daughton CG, Jones-Lepp T (eds) Pharmaceuticals and personal care
products in the environment: scientific and regulatory issues. American Chemical Society,
Washington DC, pp 100-115
Ahrer W, Scherwenk E, Buchberger W (2001) Determination of drug residues in water by the
combination of liquid chromatography or capillary electrophoresis with electrospray mass
spectrometry. J Chrom A 910:69-78
ATSDR (1994) Agency for toxic substances and disease registry. Toxicological profile for carbon
tetrachloride
(update).
Public
Health
Service,
U.S.
Department
of
Health
and
Human
Services, Atlanta, GA
